


Flatlining

by lalaitskelcey



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Angst, Ben Solo Needs A Hug, Divorced Reylo, Doctors au that no one asked for, Eventual Fluff, Eventual Happy Ending, Eventual Smut, Minor Character Death, Multi, Other Ships Not Mentioned in Tags, Rey Needs A Hug, Rey is a Kenobi, Tags Contain Spoilers, Unplanned Pregnancy, author pretends to know about doctor stuff, based off of a kdrama, mentions of past Miscarriage, secret pinning
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-11
Updated: 2021-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:21:37
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 17,953
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24668308
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lalaitskelcey/pseuds/lalaitskelcey
Summary: It’s been three years since they last saw each other, and now Ben and Rey are starting their medical internships at the same hospital. No one knows they used to be married, but how long can they keep that a secret? Is this the universes way of giving them a second chance?
Relationships: Rey/Ben Solo | Kylo Ren
Comments: 66
Kudos: 241





	1. One

**Author's Note:**

> -pretends I don’t have other WIPs to be working on- I’ve had this idea for a hot minute, and I’m so excited to finally be sharing it! If you’ve ever seen the k-drama “Emergency Couple”, this is based on that show! One of my favorite dramas, I highly recommend it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The amazing mood board was made by @darthdarcyy on Twitter!

  
  
Start of term, Fall 2014 is when they met. Rey had been running late, not a regular occurrence for her. She slept through her alarm, and of course traffic was terrible- hence why she usually woke up early to allow plenty of time to leave. She was midway through her first year of medical school; she was going to be a doctor. Just like her parents, and just like her grandfather. Ben Kenobi had been a legend back in the day, one of the best doctors in Coruscant. She hadn’t originally wanted to be a doctor, much to her parents dismay. 

When she was 15, she had accompanied her parents to Naboo; one of their rare family trips. During the flight, a man started having a heart attack. The flight attendant called out, asking if there was a doctor on board. Luckily for the man, there were two. Her parents jumped from their seats, and quickly took charge of the situation. She had watched, wide eyed as they saved the man's life. It was the most incredible thing she’d ever seen. Once they got the man stable, the whole plane had clapped for them. Her mother accepted a hug from the hysterical wife, who thanked them both profusely for saving her husband. That had been what changed Rey’s mind. 

“Hold the elevator!” She called out, as she ran down the hall. A large hand shoots out, keeping the doors from closing. She slides in, and turns to see a very tall man, with dark hair and a rather large nose. Probably the most handsome man she’s ever seen.

“Thank you, I’m running a bit late today.” She smiles at him, pulling her book bag strap higher over her shoulder. He nods, the corners of his mouth pulling up slightly.

“No problem, I kind of am too.”

“Human anatomy with Skywalker?” She raises an eyebrow.

“You too?” He chuckles, putting his hands in his pockets. 

“I heard he’s kind of a hard ass.”

He snorts, “You could say that.”

“I’m Rey.” She holds out her hand, and he takes it.

“Ben.”

“Nice to meet you, Ben.” 

They get to their floor, and both shuffle off toward the lecture hall. They sit next to each other that first day, and after class make plans to grab a coffee the next day. They sit and talk for about two hours, before walking together to class. The second week, he asks her if she wants to grab lunch with him. The third week, she invites him out for dinner. Before Rey even realizes it, she’s practically living at his apartment. But once her parents find out who she’s dating, they’re furious.

“I don’t care what kind of family he’s from! Why should that matter when I love him?!”

“Darling, he just isn’t right for this family! We have an image to uphold.” Her mother takes a step toward her, and raises her hands as if to place them on her shoulders. Rey steps back, scowling at her mother. 

“We both know I’ll do as I wish even without your permission. It would’ve been nice to have my parents support, but I can do without.” She spins on her heel, walking away from her mother. Once she gets in her car, she decides to go to the only other person in her family who might be on her side. She rings the doorbell, wiping tears from her eyes. Her grandfather opens the door with a smile on his face, but he frowns once he sees she is crying.

“What’s wrong, sunshine?” He opens his arms, and she flings herself toward him, crying against his shoulder. Once she calms down a bit, she tells him about the argument with her mother. He sighs. 

“Your mother can be incredibly stubborn sometimes, gets it from your grandmother. She means well, even if she was harsh about it.” 

“But I love him. I don’t care who his grandfather was, that has nothing to do with him!”

He reaches out to take her hands, “I will support you, in any way I can. I promise.”

When she gets to Ben's apartment that night, she drops her bag and flops down on the couch next to him. He takes his glasses off, and puts his laptop aside. 

“How’d it go?” She groans, and crawls into his lap. “That bad?” He kisses the top of her head, and rubs her back with his hands. 

“I don’t care what they say. My grandfather said he would talk to her, try to make her see reason.” She closes her eyes, and nuzzles against his chest. 

“Let’s just elope.” She mumbles.

“What?” 

She raises her head and looks at him, “Let’s just elope. I don’t want a big wedding, and I know you don’t either.”

“But your parents would be furious.”

“Ben, I don’t care. They’ll get over it. I’ve spent my whole life trying to please them, I’m finally doing something for me.”

He leans his forehead against hers, “Let's do it, then.”

They go that weekend, on the only day they both have free. She wears a short sleeve white dress with flowers all over it, and he wears a blue suit with a black tie. They pick out rings one hour before they plan to go to the court house, and they meet her grandfather outside. She knew he would be furious if he didn’t get to see his only granddaughter getting married, whether her parents approved or not. They slip the plain gold bands on each other's fingers, and he sweeps her off her feet for the kiss. Her grandfather wipes his eyes with a tissue, and tells them to smile for a picture. He gets a copy of it printed for them, and it hangs in their house. 

Of course, when her parents find out, they threaten to take away her inheritance. She rolled her eyes at that, her and Ben already having jobs. She gets into a screaming fest with her mother, and her father just stands nearby watching her with a disappointed look. They don’t speak for a few weeks, but finally her grandfather has the three of them over to his house. Her parents apologize, still making it clear they don’t approve, but promise to keep their opinions to themselves. Rey thought things could only go up from then on, but of course that isn’t always the case. 

Shortly after they celebrate their 6 month wedding anniversary, Ben comes home from a meeting with his uncle looking ragged.

“Ben? What’s wrong?” She takes his hands, trying to get him to look at her. His lips tremble, as he finally meets her gaze. 

“He gave the position to someone else.”

“What? But he already offered it to you. How could he just give it to someone else?”

“He found out about the offer I got from Snoke, thought it meant I was going to take it and betray his trust.” He shakes his head furiously. “He wouldn’t even let me explain myself. Just dismissed me with a wave of his hand.” He steps away from her, and swings his fist at the wall, hitting hard enough to leave a hole. 

She’s seen him angry before, but this was different. He starts to swing at the wall again, but she catches his arm, and turns him around. “Ben! Hurting yourself won’t make you feel any better.” He collapses against her, wrapping his arms around her tight. She rubs his back as he sobs. He stops going to classes, and stops leaving the house. She tries to support him, encouraging him to go out and do something, to go back to class. She comes home from work to find him already asleep. After a month and a half, they start arguing. 

“Is it too damn much to ask that you at least clean up after yourself?! I’m gone all day, and have to come home and pick up after you. This is ridiculous, Ben! You always wanted to be a doctor, are you really gonna give it all up?!”

“He was part of the reason I wanted to be a doctor! Don’t fucking pretend to know how this feels!”

“Maybe I would know if you would talk to me about it! But all you do is wallow in this apartment, and when I try to have a conversation with you, it's like you’re not even hearing anything I’m saying!”

Things get a little better, he gets a job and they start talking a bit more; but there’s still a rift between them.

Ben gets home late one night, after going out for drinks with some coworkers. He quietly shuts the front door, and fumbles around for the light switch. He turns it on, and sees Rey waiting for him. 

“Christ, Rey. You’re gonna give me a heart attack.” He leans down to kiss her, and she stops him with a hand on his chest. 

“You’re drunk.” She glares up at him. 

He straightens, and loosens his tie. “I just had a few drinks.”

“Why didn’t you answer your phone?”

“It died, and I couldn’t find my charger. I’m sorry.”

“I tried to get a hold of you at work, too. They said you were busy.”

“I was, I was in a meeting all day, trying to fix a mistake someone made. Did something happen?”

She just shakes her head, standing from the couch. “It doesn’t matter now. My mother keeps telling me to just leave you. I’m starting to think she’s right.” She laughs without any humor. 

“Since when do you care what your mother thinks? I’ve been trying Rey, what more do you want?! I’m sorry I can’t just bounce back from things like you can!”

“We’re married! You’re supposed to talk to me, Ben! We should be working through things together! You haven’t been the same since Luke gave away your position.”

“You’re the one who wanted me to get out of the house, get a job! Then you decide you don’t like the job I got, and complain I work too much! I don’t know what the fuck you want you want from me, Rey!”

She screams, and hurtles her cell phone at him. He ducks, and it shatters their wedding picture on the wall. 

“What the fuck?!” He shouts, turning back to look at her. 

She just glares at him, before going into their bedroom and slamming the door. 

When he wakes up the next morning, she’s gone. She leaves a note, saying she’s staying with her parents for a few days. She’s gone for two weeks, and he isn’t surprised when he gets handed divorce papers from a messenger. After the papers are signed, Rey comes back to the apartment with her mother to pack up her stuff. As they’re leaving, her mother turns to him, narrowing her eyes.

“I knew you weren’t good enough for her.” 

He just stares at her, too exhausted to argue with her. 

“Mother, we’re leaving.” Rey calls from the door. 

“I had to be there for her because you-“

“Mother!” Rey shouts, pulling her toward the door.

The divorce is finalized a week before what would’ve been their one year anniversary. 

**_Three years later_ **

Ben honks his horn, muttering ‘ _ Come on’  _ under his breath. He really didn’t want to be late for his first day of his internship. He’d wasted two and half years of his life working for Andrew Snoke, under the guise he would be invited to do his residency at his hospital once he got out of medical school. That had, of course, been just a ploy to discredit his uncle. He’d only even accepted Snokes offer out of spite of Luke’s rejection of him. His mother had originally been angry with Luke for thinking so little of Ben. Once Ben actually accepted the offer, she’d been furious with him. His uncle had worked closely with Snoke when they were younger on a research paper, and Snoke had stolen their work and taken all the credit. Even though they hadn’t been on the best of terms at the time, his parents had been there to help him through the divorce. They’d been thrilled when he finally dropped Snoke. 

The driver he honked at flips him off, and Ben proceeds to lay on his horn. 

________________________________

Rey puts her bag away in her locker, and pulls her hair into a ponytail before pulling on her white coat. It took her longer than she anticipated, but she’s finally here, starting her internship. She leaves the locker room, and sees Finn leaning against a wall with two coffees in his hands. 

“One black coffee, with two packs of sugar.” He holds a cup out for her. She takes it and thanks him. “I still don’t know how you drink it like that, it’s so bitter.”

“It’s how my parents always had theirs, I took after them I guess.” She says with a shrug, before taking a sip of her coffee.

“I’m perfectly fine with my peppermint mocha latte.” 

She chuckles, and they start walking toward the room they’re meeting the doctors they’ll be reporting to. She met Finn when she went back to medical school, and they’d been best friends ever since. They knew a few of the people in their group from school, but Rey hoped she didn’t see anyone from when she was first in school. They see Kaydel and Rose go to join them.

“Rey! Finn! I know I already said it, but I’m so glad we’re doing our internships together.” Rose says, clapping her hands.

“Me too, glad to have some friendly faces in this group.” She sets her coffee down, glancing around the room. Just then, a doctor with different color scrubs walks in the room, checking his watch.

“Hello everyone, I’m Poe Dameron. I’m one of the physicians you’ll be reporting to while you’re here. Dr. Calrissian will be along shortly, but since most of you seem to be here we can get started. If I could just have everyone come over one at a time and tell me your name.”

After about ten minutes, the rest of the interns make their way into the room, and so does Dr. Calrissian. 

“So lovely to meet you all, I’m Jannah. Is this everyone?” She raises an eyebrow at Poe. 

“We’re just missing one person.”

A man with a head of bright orange hair and equally orange beard raises a hand, “He’ll be here soon, he got caught in traffic.” 

“We can wait a few more minutes.” Jannah says, taking a seat next to Poe. 

Finn leans in to whisper to her, “I’d hate to be the one who’s late, I heard Damerons a hard ass.” 

She snorts and takes a sip of her coffee. The door opens just then, and before she can turn around to see who just joined them, a voice she never imagined she would hear again speaks.

“So sorry I’m late.”

She inhales sharply, and chokes on her coffee. Finn smacks her on the back, looking at her with concerned eyes. 

“You okay?” 

She just nods, and tries to subtly glance over her shoulder at the door. He’s still standing there, and it seems he hasn’t noticed her yet. 

“I see you aren’t in your uniform yet. You can go and change once we’re done.” Poe says, crossing his arms and leaning back in his chair.

Ben nods, and walks to sit next to the red haired man across from her. His eyes glance up and meet hers, and he freezes. They stare at each other for an awkward amount of time, before Poe stands and clears his throat, pulling her attention away.

_________________

_ Shit, shit, shit. Why, oh why was the universe this cruel?  _ He tried earnestly to pay attention to Jannah and Poe, but his attention kept being pulled toward  _ her.  _ She’d cut her hair, it only came to her chin now. Had it really been three years since he last saw her? God, she looked amazing. His thoughts are interrupted when Hux elbows him in the ribs. He turns to glare at him, but sees everyone standing from their seats and gathering their stuff. Poe walks toward the door, turning back to look at them.

“So, re-group in the ER in,” he glances at his watch, “fifteen minutes.” 

He grabs his bag and whispers to Hux, “Why are we meeting in the ER department?” 

Hux rolls his eyes, “Were you listening to anything they just said? That’s where we’ll be working.”

He furrows his brow, but files out of the room behind everyone else. Once he gets to the door, Rey steps in front of him. 

“Can we talk?” Her arms are crossed, and she has a blank look on her face, but he can tell she is upset. He just nods, and follows her out of the hospital to a small private courtyard. 

“What are you doing here? I thought you didn’t even want to be a doctor anymore!” 

“So I couldn’t change my mind? What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you almost be done with your residency?”

She narrows her eyes, “That’s none of your business.”

He scoffs, “Oh but my reason for being here is yours?” 

“Whatever. No one here needs to know about our past.”

“Agreed. We can just pretend we don’t know each other.”

“Great.” She snaps, and spins on her heel and walks back inside. 

He walks to the nearest bench and flips down on it, pressing his palms to his eyes.  _ God, she hates me.  _ He had always hoped he would get a chance to see her again, apologize for what he put her through. See if she could ever give him another chance, but that dream has been thoroughly shot.

_____________________

Rey can barely hold back the tears filling her eyes, a few spilling down her face. But she gets to the locker room and quickly shuts herself in one of the bathrooms. She wipes her eyes with shaky hands, glad she had decided against wearing mascara today. She didn’t mean to be so angry at him, but seeing him again brought old memories to the surface, old feelings she tried desperately to bury. 

_ ‘I’m so sorry, ma’am. Is there someone we can call for you.’  _

_ ‘Y-yes. My husband….’ _

She shakes her head furiously, refusing to keep thinking about it. But the memory just keeps going. 

_ ‘We weren’t able to get through. Is there someone else we could call?’ _

_ ‘N-no. I’ll try him.’ _

_ She sniffles as she pulls her phone from her purse, dialing Bens number. It immediately goes to voicemail, and she tries his work number and still no answer. She lets out a sob, squeezing her eyes shut.  _

_ ‘Is there someone else we can call for you?’ _

_ ‘My mother. Kira Kenobi.’ _

_ She hears mumbled whispers from the nurses, and someone calls her mother. They haven’t spoken for a few weeks-both still fuming from their last argument- but when she sees her mother, she collapses against her. She holds her tight, and strokes her hair. She thanks the nurse, and walks Rey out to her car. The drive back to her and Ben's apartment is silent, and once they’re inside she just quietly asks,  _

_ ‘Did he know?’ _

_ Rey shakes her head, and blows her nose.  _

_ ‘I was waiting to tell him.’ _

_ ‘I’m so sorry, honey.’She embraces her again. ‘I had two miscarriages before you were born, I was crushed. But yours was early, it doesn’t mean you can’t get pregnant again.’ _

She gasps, shuddering at the full memory. A small part of her had blamed Ben for what happened, but of course she knew it just happened sometimes. But things between them had already been rocky, and the distance became too irreparable. She wipes her eyes and steps out of the stall, and checks her reflection quickly before leaving the restroom. She just needs to get through this internship, and then she can ask to be moved to another group. Surely it can’t be that bad.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading, please let me know your thoughts. Shout out to the fanfic struggle squad on twitter for helping motivate me to work on this!


	2. Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> First day working together in the ER, and an unexpected visitor drops by.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I may or may not have stayed awake all night working on this 🤔 
> 
> I had the wonderful [silhouettts](https://twitter.com/silhouettts) assisting me with the medical stuff in this chapter, thank you so much! 😊

After pulling on his scrubs, he pushes his hair out of his face. 

_ Why was she so angry?  _

He isn’t sure how he’ll get through the next few months if she can’t even stand to have a conversation with him. He sighs and shuts his locker.

“What’s your problem, Solo?” Hux asks, leaning on the wall next to him. 

“Nothing. I just woke up late.” 

The other man raises an eyebrow. “That didn’t seem like nothing. You couldn’t stop staring at that woman, and now you’ve been in a grumpy mood ever since.”

“I’m always grumpy.”

“Yeah, but this is different. Did you know her or something?”

“No. Kind of. We uh… had a few classes together before the whole thing with my uncle happened.” Not entirely a lie.

“Did she know your ex?” Hux knew he had been married, but they never discussed Rey.

“I don’t know. Look, can we just drop it? We need to get out there anyway.”

Hux raises his hands in surrender, and follows Ben from the locker room. They had worked together under Snoke, and for the longest time they were rivals. But once they both realized they were being used, they found they got along decently and both left at the same time. 

They find the others gathered around a nurses station in ER, and Ben avoids looking at Rey. Poe and Jannah join them, both carrying a stack of files. 

“We’ll be assigning all of you a patient for today, all relatively minor cases. I want you to study the file, and then report to me or Dr. Calrissian before doing any treatment.” They hand out the files, and Ben takes a look at his. 

_ ‘65 year old man, complaining of chest pain. Initial tests show no sign of heart attack. History of asthma and diabetes’ _

He looks around at everyone else, wondering what kind of patients they got. Poe’s pager goes off just then, everyone’s eyes turning toward him. 

“Looks like we got one coming in bay five, let’s go!” They all take off, rushing toward ambulance doors. Three paramedics push in the stretcher, carrying an unconscious young man. 

“He fell off of his roof, and got a nail embedded in his leg. His neighbor saw it and called 911.” 

They put the sides of the stretcher down, and Poe grabs one side of the sheet.

“Let’s move him over,” Ben steps forward and helps. “someone grab the EKG.”

Rey pushes the cart up, then she and one of the nurses start attaching the pads to the man's chest. Jannah lifts the man’s eyelids, flashing a light to check his pupil movement. 

“Pupils are dilated unevenly, he likely has a concussion. After that legs patched up he needs to go to imaging.”

Poe puts on gloves, and grabs a pair of forceps. “I need gauze and lidocaine. Someone give him a tetanus shot.”

The nurse starts grabbing the supplies, while Jannah prepares a syringe after being handed the vial of anesthetic. She does small injections around where the nail is embedded, then Poe uses the forceps to pull the nail out. 

“Now, who wants to flush this?” Poe asks, pulling off his gloves. Nobody moves, everyone just looking back and forth at each other. 

“Seriously, am I gonna have to pick someone?” 

Rey raises her hand, “I’ll do it.” 

Poe nods, “Thank you, Dr. Kenobi. And who wants to tell me why we don’t stitch up wounds like this?” 

“So the wound can be monitored for any signs of infection.”

“Correct, Dr.Tico. We’ll go ahead and get him sent to imagining, and you guys can get started on your assignments for the day.”

Rey pulls off her gloves after she finishes, tossing them in the waste bin. She looks up to see Ben staring at her, and she looks away as she feels warmth spreading on her face. Finn bumps her with his shoulder.

“So, how’s your patient looking? I didn’t really get a good look at my file yet.”

“Male, mid thirties. Came in for a muscle spasm.”

Finn raises an eyebrow, “Can’t he see his regular doctor for that?”

“Probably. But he’s claiming he’s had it for several days now, and it keeps getting worse. But he has a history of coming in for these, so it’s possible he’s looking for a fix. I'll try just giving him an injection of NSAID and see how he reacts.”

“Good luck with that, sunshine.”

She grabs the needed supplies, and head toward her patient. 

“Hello, I’m Dr. Kenobi. I’ll be giving you an injection of ketorlac which should reduce the spasm.”

“That’s not what they usually give me.” He narrows his eyes slightly, eyeing her.

“We’re trying something a little different today.”

She pulls the curtain around his bed, offering him a little privacy as he lifts the sheets and the hospital gown off his leg. His upper thigh definitely appears to be spasming. He watches her as she pulls on her gloves, before filling the syringe.

“Slight pinch,” she pushes the needle in, and he winces. She pulls the needle out, holding a cotton ball over it as she opens a bandaid and puts it on.

“You’re good at your job.”

She offers a tight lipped smile, “Thank you, sir.” She doesn’t miss the way his eyes trail down her body as she stands, disposing of the needle and pulling her gloves off. 

“Would you wanna get a drink with me when you get off?” 

“I’m afraid I’m busy after work.” She lies, trying to end the conversation so she can walk away. 

“Ah, come on. Just one drink. What, have you got a boyfriend or something.”

“I-“

“Yes, she does. I believe you’re ready to be discharged, Mr. Hutt.” Poe says, pulling the curtain away from around the bed. 

“Who, you?” 

Poe glances at her, and she just stares with widened eyes. “Yes. So I’d appreciate it if you’d stop asking her out for a drink.”

He lightly takes her by the elbow, and steers her away. “Sorry, I couldn’t help but overhear. We get guys like him, every so often.” He let’s go of her elbow once they get to the nurses station. 

“Thanks, I really wasn’t sure what to say to him.”

He nods, crossing his arms over his chest. “If you ever feel uncomfortable, feel free to ask me or any of the other doctors for assistance.” 

Rey watches him leave, and feels her phone go off just then. She checks it quickly, to see it’s her mother calling. 

“Mother, I’m at work.”

“I know, I came to visit you. I know you’re probably busy on your first day, so don’t worry. I’ll be here whenever you’re ready.”

“You’re here? Where?” She looks around frantically, wondering where Ben is.

“I’m coming to the emergency room, going visit an old friend of mine.” 

She hangs up quickly, turning to the nurse sitting beside her, “Have you seen Dr. Solo recently?”

“Uh, no. Not for a while.” She curses, and spins on her heel, looking around. She spots Rose, checking on a patient.

“Have you seen Dr. Solo?” Rose turns toward her, with a raised brow. 

“Yeah, about ten minutes ago. He was helping someone move a patient upstairs.” 

“Thank you!” She calls over her shoulder as she rushes toward the elevator. She realizes on her way there she has no idea which floor it was, but as she’s lost in her thoughts she runs into Ben. Literally. 

“Oof,” he grunts, as her head collides with his chest.

“Geez, Rey, can you-“

“My mother’s here.”

His eyes widen, “What? Why?”

“I don’t know! To have lunch or something. Can you avoid the ER for now?”

“Avoid it? Where else would I go? I have patients to attend to!”

“I’ll handle them for right now! Just give me fifteen minutes to get her somewhere else! She can’t know we’re working together, I’ll never hear the end of it.”

He huffs, rolling his eyes. “Fine.”

“Thank you.” She turns to walk back toward the ER, when she sees her mother walking around the corner. “Shit!” She turns back around, grabbing Bens sleeve and hauling him inside the nearest medical supply closet.

“What the fuck?” 

She shushes him, “My mother!”

“Honestly, Rey. Does it really matter if she sees me?”

“Yes! She’ll try and insist I switch departments, or you switch departments. I don’t need her getting involved in my job, thank you very much.”

“Why don’t you?” He asks, and she’s suddenly aware of how close he’s standing.

“Why don’t I what?”

“Switch departments. I know you aren’t thrilled about working with me.”

“Yeah, I’m not. But I don’t fancy being labeled the difficult intern and complaining about my assigned department. Why are you here, anyways? Shouldn’t you be doing your internship at Snoke’s hospital?”

He raises an eyebrow, and she clears her throat, looking away from him. “Right, sorry. None of my business.”

“He was an asshole, and he was just using me. It just took me too long to see that. I only took the job to spite Luke, anyway.”

She’s shocked by his admission, and is secretly glad he saw Snoke for who he truly was.

“Well, I’m only here now because… I wanted to stick to my word. Not using my trust fund. I was determined to finish school on my own. Probably not the best idea, but I was stubborn.” Not entirely a lie, but he doesn’t need to know how distraught and depressed she was after their divorce. 

He snorts, “Yeah, I remember. Um, we should probably…” he nods his head at the door.

“Oh, right. Sorry. She’s probably gone by now.” She starts to reach for the handle at the same time he does, causing their fingers to brush.

“U-uh sorry. After you.” He stammers, stepping back. She nods, opening the door. They walk back in silence. 

_______________________________

He goes through the rest of his day trying to pretend he wasn’t affected by being so close to her in that closet. Tries to ignore the tingling where his fingers touched hers. He doesn’t see her much, for which he’s glad. After getting back to his apartment, he takes a quick shower before collapsing on his bed, with only a towel around his waist. His mind wanders back to that closet, standing so close to her. He hoped she couldn’t hear how fast his heart had been beating.  _ God _ he had forgotten how good she smelled. His cock twitches, and he squeezes his eyes shut, rubbing a hand down his face.

“Not okay to masturbate thinking about your ex wife, not okay….”

Luckily his phone starts going off just then, pulling him from his thoughts. He sits up, and reaches down to the floor to pull his phone from his pants pocket.

“Hi mom.”

“Ben! Sorry, I’m not calling too late, am I? I wanted to ask how your first day went!”

“It’s okay, I was still up. It was fine, I guess.”

“It was fine? That’s all you can tell me?”

“I treated three patients, and had someone throw up on me. It was a day.”

“Oh, fine. Be stubborn. But anyways, I was talking to one of my old friends, you remember Amilyn? Turns out, her niece is interning there too! Kaydel Connix, you know her?”

“Yeah, I met her. We’re in the ER together.”

“That’s wonderful! She’s very pretty, don’t you think? Amilyn told me she’s single!”

Ben sighs, already knowing where this is going. “Yeah, she’s pretty I guess. Mom, you know I’m not interested in dating right now.”

“Yeah, yea. But maybe you could get to know her, ask her for dinner or something. You’re not getting any younger, and I want grandbabies.”

“Mom, I’m not discussing this with you.”

“Oh, but please just consi- Han, don’t!”

“Hey kid, sorry about your mother. I told her not to say anything about that but you know she doesn’t listen to me.”

He chuckles, and can hear his mother yelling in the background. 

“Thanks, dad. I’ll still see you for dinner this weekend, okay? Love you guys.” He hangs up before his mother has a chance to snatch her phone back from his dad.

He tosses his phone down on his bed, and opens the drawer of his night stand. He pulls out the box, running his fingers over the top. He opens the lid, admiring the simple leather watch inside.  _ He probably won’t accept it, but I’ll insist.  _ He looks at the small card, written in his own hand. 

‘ _ Thank you for believing in me when no one else did- Ben’ _

________________________

Rey is definitely not thinking about Ben. Absolutely not. She stabs at her chicken a little forcefully, prompting an eyebrow raise from her father.

“Problem, sweetheart?”

“No, just thinking about my day.”

“How was it?” He takes a sip from his wine glass.

“Uneventful. Mostly, anyways. Had to fend off a guy wanting to buy me a drink.” She snorts, taking a bite off her fork.

“Suppose that’s my fault, you get your good looks from me.”

She laughs, and he smiles at her. 

“What’s so funny?” Her mother asks, walking back into the room and taking her seat across from Rey. 

“Dad cursed me with his good looks, apparently.” 

Her mother just looks between the two, not understanding the joke. It had been like that a lot throughout her childhood, her and her father cracking jokes, and her mother either not understanding or scolding them for being silly in public. She couldn’t understand what had brought the two together, some days. Ewan Kenobi- he had actually changed his last name when they married- was a strange man. She had been even more hurt that he had objected to her marriage with Ben, because she expected him to support her. But he had just stood by and let her mother say horrible things to her. Had agreed that Ben wasn’t a good fit for their family. She still felt bitter about it some days, but tried to lock that feeling away. 

“Father wants you to come visit as soon as you can, he misses you.” Her mother says, between bites of food. 

“I miss him too. I’ve just been so busy with the internship. I’ll go this weekend.”

“Oh, and remember we’ll be out of town all next week. They have us speaking at the conference in Chandrila. Are you sure you don’t need help moving? I can hire movers for you.”

“Mom, it’s okay. Finn, Rose and Kaydel are helping. I don’t have that much stuff, anyway.”

“I know, I just worry. I still wish you had picked that apartment I suggested.”

“It was too far. I like that I’ll be able to walk to the hospital. Save the planet, and all that.”

Her father pats her hand, “And we're very proud of you for that, darling.”

Rey rolls her eyes, and takes a bite of her salad.

  
  


_____________________________

Ben takes a deep breath, before grabbing the box and getting out of his car. He hadn’t called ahead like he usually did, hoping to surprise him. He walks up to the gate, pressing the doorbell. An older woman with a wrap on her head appears on the screen.

“Ben, we weren’t expecting you today.”

“I know, sorry Ms. Tano.”

“Nonsense, come on in.” 

The lock on the gate unlatches, and he pushes it open and walks through. When he gets to the front door, Ashoka is already waiting for him. 

“He’s in the greenhouse right now, just got started.”

“Thank you.” He nods, and walks through the house to the door leading out to the back yard. He does his best to avoid looking at the pictures on the wall, especially the ones with him in them. He’d begged him to take them down, but old Ben Kenobi insisted.

“Benjamin! What’s brought you here today?” He turns in his chair, pulling his gloves off his hands.

“I wanted to see how you’re doing. Is that knee still acting up?” He takes a seat across from him, settling the box on his lap.

“You know I was a doctor, too. And my daughter comes by weekly and pesters me with questions. You don’t need to worry about this old man.” He smiles, crinkling his nose in the same manner as Rey.

“Okay, you caught me. I really just wanted to bring you this.” He offers up the box.

Kenobi just raises an eyebrow, taking the box and opening it gently. 

“My, look at that. It looks just like my old one. This is much too kind of you, Benjamin. I can’t accept this.”

“I knew you would object, but I insist. I saw that and knew it was meant for you.” He chuckles, leaning back and crossing his arms.

“Oh, alright. Thank you.” He pulls the watch from the box, pulling it over his wrist before looking at the card inside.

“I know it may not have seemed like it, but I wasn’t the only one. Your mother-“

“I know, I know. But you really made the difference. I didn’t expect… after everything….” he clears his throat, “it really meant a lot to me. Thank you.”

Kenobi just smiles, patting him on the shoulder. “Of course, Benjamin.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, go [here](https://twitter.com/dewiidrop/status/1272398978106056705?s=21) to see the wonderful artwork I commissioned of Ben and Rey by @dewiidrop on twitter! I love it 😍


	3. Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben and Rey can’t stop thinking about each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gonna try and work on this one again! Sorry for the long wait 😅 please let me know what you think!
> 
> Tw: blood, and description of medical procedure

_“Ben! I’m home, I brought dinner!” Rey kicks the door shut behind her, barely keeping the bag of food from falling. She sets everything down on the counter, feeling a bit breathless._

_“Ben?” She starts walking toward their bedroom._

_“In the bathroom! I’ll be done in a sec!”_

_She flops back on their bed, kicking her shoes off before shutting her eyes. It’s been a long day, and she’s already looking forward to going to bed after they have dinner. She doesn’t hear the bathroom door opening, or the quiet footsteps over to the bed. She squeals when large hands grab her ankles and pull her down the bed._

_“You’re gonna give me a heart attack!” Ben just smirks at her, before bending over her kissing her until her head spins. He quickly works the buttons of her shirt undone, sucking a bruise on her collarbone. Her back arches off the bed, and she runs her fingers through his damp hair. “Ben…. the food will get cold.”_

_He hums, coming back up to slant his mouth over hers. “Yours will get cold, I think I’ll have mine now.” He mumbles against her lips, before leaning back on his knees to unbutton her jeans. She covers her face with her hands, but lifts her hips so he can pull them off._

She wakes with a gasp, feeling sweat drip down her back. Her thighs clench together of their own accord, making her shudder. 

“What the fuck..” she mumbles to her self. She hadn’t had a sex dream about Ben for years, but of course now that she sees him everyday her subconscious is going wild. It’s probably a sign she needs to get laid. She pushes the covers off, and sits up and stretches. _No point in trying to go back to sleep_ she thinks. 

As she’s preparing her coffee, a random idea goes her mind, wondering if Ben has dreams about her. She quickly shakes her head, putting an end to that train of thought. She is definitely going to take Finn up on his offer to set her up with a blind date. She finishes her coffee, and decides it’s a perfect morning to go for a jog. 

___________

“...98, 99, 100.” He lets the bar drop back onto the rack, breathing heavy as he sits up. He wipes the sweat from his face with a towel, and stretches his arms out. It had been easier than he thought it would be, working closely with Rey. He enjoys the moments they’re both working with the same patient, and their past doesn’t matter. Of course, it’s shattered as soon as he tries to smile at her, and say ‘job well done’ or something similar and she just closes off and walks away. He isn’t proud about how much he thought about her the past few years, thinking about everything he did wrong, how he wishes so desperately that he could fix it. 

He uses his towel to dry some of the sweat from his hair, before tossing in his laundry basket. His phone goes off just then, and it’s from his mother.

_Hello darling son! How has work been? Have you talked to Kaydel yet? You should ask her to dinner! Love, mom._

He rolls his eyes, and sets his phone back down. He had talked to Kaydel, hard not to when he works so closely with her. She’s pleasant enough, but she doesn’t compare to Rey. No one, can really. He knows his mother won’t accept _I’m just not interested_ as an answer, but he can’t exactly tell her why. _Oh yeah, by the way, guess who I’m working with? And I’m still in love with her, too._

He takes a quick shower, rinsing all the sweat from his body and dresses in his scrubs. There has to be some way to ease the tension between him and Rey, and he’s determined to find it.

__

“Woah, woah, what’s with the dark circles? You get any sleep last night?” Finn asks, looking concerned.

“Yeah, just woke up early and couldn’t get back to sleep. I decided to go for a jog instead.” She waves off his concern, as they walk toward the ER.

“Are you coming to the thing this weekend?” He scans his badge at the door leading to the staff lounge, nodding for her to go ahead of him. 

“You’re gonna need to be a bit more specific, Finn. I’m drawing a blank here.”

“Seriously, you don’t remember? The mixer at the Cantina? I swear we only talked about it for a few hours last week. Kaydel and Rose mention it everyday at lunch.”

“I’m sorry, half the time at lunch I’m either falling asleep over my food or thinking about a case I had. I’m not adjusting as well as I thought I would be to all this.” She shrugs, crossing her arms in front of her.

Finn pats her shoulder, “It’s okay, we’re all dealing in our own ways. I think this mixer is Rose and Kaydels way.” 

They part ways, heading to their respective locker rooms. Rey says hello to Kaydel, before opening her locker and tossing her bag in there. She hears a phone close by start ringing, and unintentionally eavesdrops.

“Hi, Mrs. Solo! Yeah, my aunt mentioned you might be calling.” 

Rey’s ears perk up at that, and she leans around her locker door. Kaydel has a nervous look on her face, as she holds the phone to her ear.

“We have met, but we don’t talk much. Oh no, he seems very nice. Dinner? Well, if you insist. Yes, I’ll be there, thank you!” She hears a quiet _what the hell_ before the locker door is shut.

“Kaydel, I don’t mean to be nosy, but who was that?”

“You know Ben, right? In our class? That was his mom. She knows my aunt,” she rolls her eyes, “and so now I think they are trying to set us up.” She sighs.

_That does sound like Leia…_

She remembers Ben’s mother being very warm and welcoming, everything she had craved from her own mother. Leia had insisted on talking to Rey’s parents, trying to make them see reason and not give them so much trouble. It had gone horrible, of course, with Leia calling her mother a “frigid bitch”. She’d apologized to Rey later, saying she’d just lost her cool, but Rey understood. She typically had to hold her own tongue from calling her the same thing. 

“Oh wow. Is that a bad thing?” Rey doesn’t care, she doesn’t.

“I mean, he’s handsome. Seems a little too gloomy though.” She shrugs. 

Rey almost feels relieved, but chooses not to analyze that feeling. They leave the locker room together, chatting about their patients. Getting to the nurses station, Rey sees Ben laughing at something a nurse said and quickly averts her gaze.

“Intern team, follow me please.” Poe calls out, before walking toward one of the meeting rooms. 

They all gather around, looking at the tubes in ice water, some groaning because they know that can only mean one thing. 

“Today you’ll be practicing using a nasopharyngeal tube with a partner. By the end of your intern year you’ll be able to do it with your eyes closed, but right now it’ll likely be a painful process that could take up to an hour.” He smiles, “I’m hoping you’ll be able to insert them without hurting your partner, and in a timely manner.”

“It’s going toward your intern performance evaluation, so do well doctors.” Jannah crosses her arms, looking around the room. 

Rey starts to go with Finn, but Jannah shakes her head. “You two always work together. You need to be able to work well with someone you barely know.” She looks back at the other doctors. “Dr. Kenobi, you work with Dr. Solo. Dr. Storm can work with Dr. Hux.”

She freezes, eyes going wide as she looks at Ben. He just sighs, glancing at her before pulling one of the tubes from the water. 

_Just my luck._

Finn just shrugs at her, before leaving her standing there alone.

“Let’s get started, Dr. Kenobi.” Ben calls. She britles at his emotionless tone but follows him. 

They decide he’ll go first, and she sits in front of him as he starts slowly pushing the tube down her nose. 

“Just breath, and keep swallowing.”

She almost snorts, but luckily she doesn’t. He starts moving too quickly, and she coughs.

“Ow! Be careful.” She smacks his hand away. 

“Sorry, sorry.” He is clearly trying to keep from laughing, the corners of his mouth twitching. He starts again, moving slowly, and she resists the urge to hit him. Her turn goes much smoother, and she gets the tube down his nose without any complications.

“Well done, well done. Everyone did good today. Now let’s get back to our patients.” Poe says, waving them off. Finn walks with Rey to her desk. 

“You looked thrilled to be working with Solo.” He jokes, looking through his phone.

“Just surprised, that’s all.”

“Sure, whatever you say.”

She rolls her eyes, pulling a file out of a drawer and leaving the room. 

__________

  
  


It could’ve gone better, but it also could have gone worse, Ben tries to remind himself. He goes through the rest of his day in a haze, just thinking about Rey. She deftly ignored him, making sure not to be too near him all day. He finishes up with a patient when one of the nurses taps him on the shoulder.

“We need your help transferring a patient upstairs.” He clears his throat.

“I don’t know if I’m technically able too, you might want to ask one of the residents.”

“Trust me, I tried, but you and Dr. Kenobi are the only two available.”

“Alright, I guess it’s just a transfer,”

He follows the nurse toward a curtained off area, where Rey is already waiting. She glances at him, but quickly looks away. 

“This is mister Hollins, he had routine surgery a few hours ago and is being taken to the fourth floor, room 313. Thank you both for helping out.”

“Let’s get moving.” Rey says, pulling the railing up on one side of the bed. They begin wheeling him to the patient elevators, and stand quietly as they wait. 

“Are you gonna ignore me all day?” He asks.

She throws a look in his direction, as they push the bed onto the elevator. “I’m not ignoring you. I haven’t had a reason to talk to you.”

“We’re in the same group, you will eventually and then I’ll be proven right.” Rey scoffs. 

“There’s nothing wrong with wanting to avoid my ex, what’s your problem anyways?”

“Can we really not just put the past behind us and start new?” 

She starts to respond but is interrupted by shrill beeping.

“What’s wrong with him?” Ben calls out, panicking.

“He can’t breath!” Rey checks his mouth, looking for blockage. “There’s nothing there.” All of a sudden, the man coughs, covering the front of her scrubs with blood. 

“We need to suction out the blood!” Ben tries to open his mouth to look, but more blood gushes out. “Dammit!”

Rey presses the emergency button on the elevator, but suddenly it goes dark and stops. 

“Call Jannah or Poe, now!” Rey says, sounding frantic. 

“I don’t have my phone!” The lights come back on, and they both look at each other. “We need to intubate him, before he drowns in his own blood!”

“Neither of us can do that without supervision!!”

“Do you want him to die?!” Ben shouts, as he pulls a case out from under the bed. It has a scalpel and the tube they need. He pulls on his gloves, and Rey cleanses the area they’ll need to cut on his throat. He starts forward with the scalpel, but his hand is shaking so badly he can’t get a good angle. 

“Let me, Ben.” She says calmly, taking the scalpel from him. She takes a deep breath, and presses down. Blood spills from the cut, and Ben quickly inserts the tube, pulling the tab out. The beeping stops, and they see the man's chest start moving again. 

“You did it. You saved him.” 

Rey leans back against the wall closing her eyes. They stand in silence for what feels like hours, but minutes later the elevator is opening to a crowd of people. Among them, Poe. 

“What the hell happened?”

“The power in the elevator went out, and he started coughing up blood.”

“The whole hospital's power went out for a moment. Why didn’t either of you call me?” Poe looks between the both of them.

The team waiting for the man quickly takes over, and Dameron pulls them both aside. 

“That was a dangerous stunt you pulled. You could’ve killed that man!”

“Chief, I-“ Rey starts, but Ben interupts her.

“I’m sorry, I did what I thought was necessary.”

He should’ve been the one to do it, he won’t let her take the fall for this. 

“Why didn’t you call?”

“Neither of us had our phones.”

“We’ll start keeping it on you! I’ll have to report this, you better hope they don’t fire you for this.” He storms off, looking ready for a fight.

“Why did you take the blame for me?!” Rey grabs his arm, looking up at him. 

“I should’ve been the one to do it, you did because I couldn’t.” 

“I’m not gonna let you get fired for me.” She hisses between her teeth.

“They won’t fire me, we saved that guy's life.”

Rey just shakes her head and walks away from him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [Nasopharyngeal Tube](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nasopharyngeal_airway)
> 
> [Tracheal Intubation](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tracheal_intubation)


	4. Four

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trying our shorter chapters, more often as it feels a little easier on my brain? We shall see 🤗

_ Two years ago  _

“Large mocha for Ben?”

_ Finally.  _ He stands from his table, walking up to the counter when he sees a face he never thought he would see again. 

“Young Benjamin! What a surprise.” Ben Kenobi greets him with a smile.

“Dr. Kenobi, how nice to see you again.”

“Oh please, you don’t need to be so formal.” He waves him off, as the younger Ben reaches for his coffee.

“Alright, Ben. How have you been?”

“Still old, still carrying on.” He chuckles, following him away from the counter. “Are you still working for that Snoke fellow?” 

“Uh, yes. Yes I am.” He sits down at a table, the older Ben following suit.

“I do hope you are being careful, I’ve heard some unsavory things about that man. Are you still studying to become a doctor?”

“That’s been… put on the back burner for now.” He sips his coffee, wondering how he can excuse himself.

“But you were so passionate about becoming a doctor.” 

“I’ve been doing more important things. The world doesn’t need another Skywalker being a doctor, anyways.”

“Your grandfather was a great man, you know.” He looks up at the older man in shock. “Yes, I knew him. We worked together shortly after medical school. The stress of losing a patient got to him, unfortunately. But he was a great man nonetheless.” He smiles, his eyes crinkling.

“I… want to get out, but I don’t know how. Snoke could ruin me.”

“Let me handle him, Benjamin. You do what you need to get out.”

“You’d help me? Despite what happened?”

“I cannot pretend to know everything that happened between you and Rey, but you are still a bright young man and I’d hate to see Snoke drag you down.”

_ Present day  _

The rest of Rey’s day is spent watching over her shoulder to see if Ben is summoned away. She almost follows him and Hux into the bathroom at one point, and decides she might be overreacting a tad. 

She’s glancing around for Ben when she comes out of the bathroom, and runs right into Poe. Literally. 

“Woah there, careful!” He catches her by the shoulders as she stumbles back, keeping her from falling. 

“Oh, geez, I’m sorry! Thank you.” She smiles, nodding her head awkwardly and tucking some hair behind her ear.

“Gotta keep your head down on earth, Kenobi.” He steps back, patting her on the shoulder as he continues on his way. 

_ Alright, he’s cute. _ She admits to herself. But he’s basically her boss, so no. 

Her days off come, finally, but she has dinner with her parents and grandfather. Her grandfather, she doesn’t mind; if she has to hear again how she’s getting older and the family name needs to be carried on, she might scream. 

“My darling, how are you?” Ben Kenobi greets her, kissing her cheek. 

“I’m fine, grandpa. I’ve missed you.”

“And I you, dear. I do hope you’re enjoying your internship?”

She smiles. “Of course. It’s going wonderful.” She glances down at his wrist and raises an eyebrow. “Is that a new watch? It looks just like your old one.”

“It’s a lovely thing, isn’t it? An old acquaintance dropped by and gifted it to me recently.” He adjusts the watch, looking proud. “Oh, I’ve just remembered. How are you settling in at your new apartment?”

“It’s great, I love being so close to the hospital. I’m getting plenty of exercise now with my walking to and from work.”

“That’s good, that’s good. Don’t want to have legs like mine when you get older.” They both chuckle. 

Her mother lets them know dinner is ready, and they all settle down to eat. 

“Dr. Dameron seems like a capable man, Rey. Why don’t you invite him to dinner sometime?”

“Mother, he’s my boss! That’s so inappropriate.” She rolls her eyes, taking a sip of wine. 

“Oh, please. That’s how I met you father, he was a resident when I was interning at the hospital.” 

“Kira, let the poor girl live. She still has plenty of time to meet someone.” Her grandfather scolds her mother, winking at her.

“Father, you know there are certain childbearing years a woman must stick to.”

Rey just facepalms.

_______

Ben can’t remember a more awkward dinner. That’s a lie, actually. Dinner with Reys parents had been more awkward, but this time was definitely up there. 

“So, Kaydel, how are you liking your internship?” His mother asks, taking a sip of wine. 

“It’s great. I’m learning so much, and I love helping people.” She forces a smile, taking a bite of her chicken.

He glances at his father, who just shrugs. They’d both tried to talk her out of having this dinner, but when Leia Organa-Solo set her mind to something, there was no stopping her.

He’s reminded of when Rey met his parents for the first time, she’d been so nervous that she drank three glasses of wine, forgetting she was a lightweight. 

“...and my grandfather, he stood right up and declared ‘I’ve had enough of this, I’m going to bed!’ My mother was so scandalized!” She clutched her chest, gasping with laughter. 

Snorting at them memory, he covers it with a cough. 

Leia tries to keep the conversation flowing, with mild success. By the time it’s over, he needs a drink. 

“Benjamin, you were so rude to our guest!” His mother scolds him, after seeing Kaydel to the door.

He sighs, taking a sip of his cornelian whisky. “It was your idea to have this stupid dinner in the first place. Can you accept now that neither of us are interested?” She rolls her eyes at him before storming off. 

He slumps into the nearest arm chair, thinking back on the previous week. He couldn’t place Rey's anger at him for taking the blame. Maybe she just doesn’t want him bailing her out? Or doesn’t want him taking the credit for saving someone? People had been congratulating him the rest of the day for his great work, he had just smiled and nodded. 

His phone buzzes in his pocket, pulling him from his thoughts. 

_ Are you coming to the bar tomorrow night? _

He raises an eyebrow, wondering since when Hux was interested in social gatherings. 

_ I haven’t decided yet. _

_ Do me a favor and just be there, I need someone to talk to keep me company. I’ve heard Rey will be there too. _

  
_ Fine. _


	5. Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The big night out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Stuff happens 👀 
> 
> (See end notes for possible triggers in this chapter)

They had agreed to meet at the bar around seven, so naturally Ben gets there a quarter till. He was always paranoid about being late, for whatever reason. Grabbing a seat at an empty table, he has a perfect view of the door. It had been a while since he was in a bar, probably not since… well, not since Rey had left him. 

“Solo!” Hux calls, walking toward him. “Have you been here long?” Ben glances at his watch, and is shocked to see it’s almost seven now. He shakes his head. “Good, the others should be here soon. I need a drink.” He walks off toward the bar, flagging down the bartender. 

“Hi, Ben.” Kaydel greets him, taking a seat across from him.

“Hey, I’m really sorry about yesterday, I don’t know what’s gotten into my mom.”

“It’s cool, it’s also my aunt.” She rolls her eyes. “Those two just think they’re so clever.” They both laugh. 

—

  
  


Finn holds the door open for Rey, and points towards where Ben and Kaydel sit. She frowns when she sees them laughing about something, but Finn steers her toward the bar first. 

“You need a drink, girl.”

“What? You need a drink.”

“True, but after that dinner with your folks I know you do.”

“Whatever, it wasn’t that bad.” He gives her a look, and she just crosses her arms. “Fine. Get me a jack and coke or something.”

“Ew, why not something tasty?” He flags down the bartender.

“It is tasty! Just because I don’t get a surgery drink like you doesn’t mean it isn’t good.”

He orders their drinks, and eventually they see Rose come in the door. After getting all their drinks, they settle at the table and say hello to everyone. They swap stories about their week, complain about difficult patients and unwind. Rey finds she is rather enjoying herself, and even laughs when Hux pokes fun at Ben about his grumpy demeanor. 

“Your patient looked ready to cry after you left!” He teases, shoving Ben’s shoulder.

“They were in pain! Of course they were about to cry!”

They all laugh, before Finn gasps and points toward the bar.

“No way!” His mouth drops. “Is that Poe and Jannah?”

They all turn and look and sure enough, the two are seated at the bar leaning close to chat. 

“You think they’re dating?” Kaydel asks.

“No way, they seem like total opposites.” Hux declares.

“Stop, you guys are being so obvious. They’ll see us!” Rose interrupts them.

Rey turns and catches Ben looking at her before he glances away. 

She has a nice buzz going about two hours later, when the bar starts getting crowded with the later crowd.

“What?” Rose says, leaning toward Finn. He leans towards her and says something Rey can’t hear, and Rose nods. 

“Hey, we should get out of here!” He says, standing from his seat. 

“My place is nearby, we can go there!” Rey slips out of her seat, swaying on her feet. 

“I’ve gotta get going, but you all have fun!” Kaydel says, pulling on her coat. 

They try to convince her to join them, but she assures them it’s fine, and she’ll see them at work. They all head out, Hux giving Ben a ride and Rose taking Finn and Rey. 

“Come in, get comfy!” Rey laughs, throwing her coat on her table. 

__

  
  


Ben can’t help but want to take in everything about her apartment, recognizing her haphazard decoration style. Plants everywhere, mismatched cushions, and color all over the place. 

They settle around her coffee table, Rey grabbing everyone a beer. He presumes she only invited him to avoid looking rude by excluding him; but when she bumps into Finn and almost trips and he realizes she’s drunk. 

“Careful, peanut!” They both laugh, as he grabs her arm to steady her. Ben feels a stab of jealousy, and resists telling him to keep his hands to himself. 

“Oh my gosh, Ben you never told us about how it was to save someone's life! How did you feel?” Rose turns toward him.

“Uh, good. Really good, and also terrifying. Any of you would’ve done the same, I’m sure.” He tries and fails to direct attention away from him.

“No, it was seriously impressive. I would’ve froze, I know it!” Says Finn. 

“You’re a hero, man. Just accept it.” Hux pats him on the back.

He sees Rey hiccup, before clearing her throat. “Very amazing, indeed. How heroic.” She almost sounds sarcastic, and he wishes he could tell them the truth, that it’s her who deserves their praise. He finishes his beer, before standing to grab another. 

After seeing Hux attempt to flirt with Rose all night, he almost feels bad when Rose stands and declares she is heading out about an hour later. But when she shoots an obvious look in Hux’s direction, Ben laughs to himself. Or at least, he thought he was, but the look Finn gives says otherwise.

Hux nudges him with his elbow, “You good?”

“M’fine.” He waves of Hux, “You go, be good. No trouble.”

  
  
  


The next thing he knows, he’s being awoken by someone screaming. He jolts upright, blinking the sleep out of his eyes. Squinting, he’s finally able to see Rey, clutching a sheet to her chest.

__

  
  


Rey awoke slowly, feeling someone warm next to her and wondered if she fell asleep next to Finn. As her eyes open, she sees the dark hair first. She sits up quickly, then looks down to see she’s naked and screams. 

  
  


Oh fuc-“ he moves to scoot away from her, and falls on the floor. 

“What the fuck!” She shouts, throwing a shirt at his head.

“I don’t know!” He shouts back. “The last thing I remember was Hux leaving!” 

“Oh my god, oh my god!” Wrapping the sheet around herself, she gets up and runs to her bathroom, just making it to the toilet as she throws up. “I fucked up, I fucked up so bad!” Leaning against the wall, she tries to wrack her memory of last night, and has vague flashes of sloppy kisses and whispered words. Her clothes coming off, then his. She feels sore between her legs, which makes sense, Ben was very well endowed.

_ Don’t think about his dick right now! _

Shaking her head, and staggers to her feet and leaves the bathroom. Ben’s dressed by now, pushing his hand through his hair.

“I’m sorry, I really don’t know how this happened.” He pleads, looking at her with puppy eyes.

“It’s fine- it’s not fine but I know it’s not just your fault. Have you… been tested recently?”

“I haven’t… been with anyone. Just you.” He mumbles, looking away from her.

“Oh. Alright. I haven’t been with anyone either, and I’m on the pill so it’s fine.”

“Good. I’ll, um, just get going.”

“I’ll see you out… actually, I’m not dressed.”

“It’s fine, I remember where the door is.”

She just nods, watching him leave. Once she hears the front door click shut, she flops facedown on her bed 

“Fuck.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rey and Ben get very drunk and sleep together, neither having memory of it so slight dubious consent? I just want to warn in case anyone is bothered by that! Stop reading after Hux leaves if you want to skip that.
> 
> Wow! I feel like this was badly written? Please let me know what you think, I’d appreciate it a lot!


	6. Six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey’s mother ends up in the hospital, and discovers Ben is working there.

_ She hasn’t been with anyone else, she hasn’t been with anyone else, she hasn’t…. _

He can’t stop thinking about it, even though he knows it probably doesn’t mean anything. She had probably just been too busy with med school, same as him.  _ Well _ not the same as him, he couldn’t stand the thought of being with anyone besides her.

Normally sleeping with Rey would be a positive thing, but considering he could barely remember it and they were both drunk, definitely not a positive thing. Their first time since the divorce should’ve been a mutual experience, one they both chose and could actually  _ remember.  _

“Never drinking again.” He quietly says to himself as he gets dressed in the locker room. Hux comes to stand next to him, stretching and before pulling on his lab coat.

“Did you get home alright the other night?”

“Uh, yea. Just fine. What about you?” Ben raises an eyebrow, shifting the subject to him. 

“Very good,” the other man grins. “it was a very long night.”

“Gross.” They both chuckle and leave the locker room together. 

Poe and Jannah give a quick briefing before sending them all to their duties for the day. He makes eye contact with Rey, and they both quickly look away. 

A bit later, he’s finishing up some stitches on an older lady who fell and cut her arm. 

“That should do it, ma’am. You’ll just want to come back in about 10-14 days to have those removed.”

“Thank you, Dr.Solo. Such a kind young man. You’re very handsome too. Ya know, I have a granddaughter probably around your age, I’ll bring her with me so you can meet her!” 

“Thank you, I’m sure she’s lovely. You have a good day now!” 

He walks away, shaking his head. At least she hadn’t been handsey like the last older person he’d worked with. He gets a page about a heart attack patient coming in, so he hurries off to meet them. Several other doctors are waiting, and they quickly start moving them to the cardiac lab as the paramedics pull them off the ambulance.

“How do we know for sure it's a heart attack?” Someone asks.

“She’s a doctor!” The paramedic responds.

Ben glances down, and his heart almost stops, once he realizes Rey’s mother is the patient. Her eyes are just barely open, and she’s looking directly at him. 

“Get oxygen on her and someone make sure the cardiologist is on their way!” 

Once she’s delivered safely to the lab, Ben runs back to the ER, frantically looking for Rey. He spots her helping wrap someone's arm, and he approaches softly.

“Re- I mean Dr. Kenobi, can I speak with you?”

“I’m kind of in the middle of something, Dr. Solo.”

She smiles awkwardly, nodding toward the patient. 

“It’s alright, I can take it from here.” The other doctor assures her. They both step away, and Ben doesn’t waist anytime.

“It’s you mother, she just got brought in for a heart attack.”

“What?! But she’s-she’s, no. That’s not possible.” She shakes her head, looking at him with disbelief.

“Rey, you know I wouldn’t lie to you. Come on.”

He takes her arm and they run together to the cardiac department. They’ve already begun the catheterization process, so all they can do is watch. Seeing her wipe away tears from the corner of his eye, he puts an arm around her shoulder and squeezes. 

“The paramedics said she got here quickly, she’ll be okay.” Rey just nods, her eyes shutting. “You need to call your dad.”

“Oh my god, he’s gonna freak out.” She sniffles, and pulls her phone out of her pocket.

  
  
  


Her prediction is right, and he does freak out. He’s three hours away, helping out at a charity clinic, but tells her he’ll be there as soon as he can. Ben doesn’t leave her side until he has too, being called away for another patient. Her mother is moved to one of the VIP rooms once they know who she is, and Rey helps settle her in. 

“Rey? What happened?”

“Oh my god, you’re awake.” Hugging her mother tightly, as a few more tears spill down her face. “You had a heart attack.”

“Heavens, no wonder. I had the strangest dream.” She sits up slowly, and Rey helps adjust the pillows behind her. “I thought I saw… well, I thought I saw your ex husband.” She chuckles, and Rey tries to smile but fails.

“Actually, there’s something you should know, mother. He works here with me. He helped bring you in from the ambulance, and then told me you were here.” Her mother shakes her head, still looking amused.

“No. No way. You would’ve told me by now, surely.” When Rey doesn’t smile, she frowns. “Rey, tell me you’re joking. That’s ridiculous, surely they have some standards on who they let into the program here.”

“Mother, please. Ben is a very capable doctor, he helped me out quite a few times.” Is she really defending him to her mother right now?

“No, absolutely not. I want to speak with Mothma, she’s the chief of medicine, she can sort this out.”

“You are not interfering with this! I don’t care how much you dislike him.” She crosses her arms, giving her mother a firm stare. She looks at her daughter with disbelief, but doesn’t push the matter any farther. 

Once her father arrives, she steps out to check in on her patients. Her charts are missing from her desk, and before she can go looking for them, Poe catches her eye.

“No worries, we heard your mother was brought in. I’ve been assisting with your cases.”

“Thank you, I really appreciate it, Dr. Dameron.”

“How’s she doing?” He comes to stand in front of her, placing a hand on her arm.

“She’s good, uh, same old.” She chuckles, and he nods, smiling at her.

“Glad to hear it. You can head out early, if you need to.”

“No, thanks. I think my dad can handle her for now. I need to focus on something else.”

He hands her files back, sending her on her way. 

  
  
  


“Dr. Solo, you free right now?” Jannah asks him.

“Yeah, I’ve got some time, what’s up?”

“You’ll be seeing the VIP we just brought in, they’ve got a staff shortage upstairs.” 

“W-wait, are you sure no one else can?”

“Is there a problem?” She raises an eyebrow.

“No, no problem. I’ll head up there now.” He sighs, preparing for a battle.

Once he gets to the door, he considers only briefly turning back and begging Jannah to send someone else. But he works up his courage, and knocks on the door. There’s no answer, so he walks in slowly. She seems to be asleep, and Rey nor her father are here. Walking as quietly as he can, he pulls her chart open to check what else she needs.

“What are you doing here?” He startles, dropping her chart. “This hospital's screening process has really gone to hell.”

“Hello, Dr. Kenobi. Did you need any-“

“No. What I need is a different doctor.”

“I’m sorry, I was the one they sent.”

“You better just stay out of Rey’s way, she's doing just fine on her own.”

“I keep to my work, and she keeps to her work.” He sets the chart back down, putting his hands in his pockets as she inspects him. 

“Rey wants me to stay out of it, and I will. But I can never forgive you for not being there for her that day.”

“What are you talking about? What day?”  _ Maybe I should just sneak out? _

“She called you, and called you. I had to pick her up and hold her as she cried and cried. Hold her hand through the procedure, when it should have been you!” 

“Respectfully, I have no idea what you’re talking about.” His heart rate was increasing, and he had to remind himself she was recovering from a heart attack. She frowns, before a look of realization crosses her face.

“She never told you. Of course she wouldn’t have. You were a mess, she couldn’t count on you to support her.” She shakes her head. “Rey suffered a miscarriage, and you were too busy drinking to answer your phone.”

He stumbles back, grabbing the wall to keep from falling. He couldn’t have heard her right. Rey would’ve told him. No matter how horrible he was, she would’ve. Right?

“You’re lying.” He gasps out. 

She just smiles sadly at him. “You know I’m not. I wouldn’t lie about this.”

He storms out of the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ben is not okay 😭 Idk if a heart attack patient would really be up for convo so shortly after what happened, but let’s just roll with it. Hence the “author pretends to know about doctor stuff” tag


	7. Seven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben confronts Rey.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Meant to have this up sooner, but was really struggling with it. Hope you enjoy!

He had every intention of looking for Rey, wanting her to confirm that her mother had been lying. But as he waits on the elevator, he starts to really think back. She’d hardly been eating, she was pale. He never actually saw her getting sick, she must have hid that well. Every time he tried to touch her at night, she’d pushed him away; it had made sense, at the time. When he had come home that night, she looked terrible; eyes bright red, pale complexion. He should have known.  _ He should have known something was wrong. _ Instead he’d been an asshole, griping at her for his own shitty life choices. 

He walks through the hospital in a daze, somehow making it back to his desk. Hux tries talking to him, he just nods, and eventually the other man walks away. 

“Ben.” His head snaps up, looking toward the one person whose voice could always get through to him. She looks tired, as she leans against his desk. “I didn’t get a chance to say thank you earlier. I’ve been being weird all day about what happened, and you still were there for me. Thank you.” 

He just nods, not able to find the words he wants to say. She goes back to her desk, leaving him with his thoughts. The rest of the day goes by in a blur, he can’t say for sure what he really did. Everyone clears out, and he goes to his car and just sits for a while. 

Turning the key, he can only think of one place to go. Once he gets there, he can see her car so at least she’s home already. Taking a deep breath, he gets out of his car and walks to her door, knocking quietly. 

“Ben? What are you doing here?” She looks confused, standing there with her hair wrapped in a towel and dressed in pajamas. He realizes he must look strange, still in his work clothes, so he just comes out and says it.

“Did you have a miscarriage? That last day, before we got divorced.” Her jaw drops, and she takes a step back.

“How did you…” she covers her face, “my mother.”

“I’ll take that as a yes.” His breath catches, and he squeezes his eyes shut. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Come inside.”

“No, just tell me!” His voice raises, and he leans toward her. 

“I couldn’t. Not with everything you were going through. I knew you would’ve been over the moon when I told you I was pregnant.” She smiles sadly, as her eyes water. “So I couldn’t do that, crush you with the news. And then I couldn’t get ahold of you that day, and I was just in so much pain it resulted in me yelling at you.” She wipes at her eyes with a shaking hand. “I’m so sorry, Ben. I didn’t mean for you to find out like this.”

He falls to his knees at her feet, as he’s overcome with sobs. He knows she’s completely right. It would’ve crushed him. He wasn’t in a stable place at the time, he wasn’t strong enough to be a good husband and support her through it. He feels hands on his back, and he reaches out and wraps his arms around her waist, his face against her stomach. 

“I don’t blame you.” He mumbles. 

“What?” He leans back to look up at her.

“I don’t blame you. I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you, Rey. I should’ve been.” He gets to his feet with shaky legs, and presses a quick kiss to her forehead. 

She just watches him as he turns and walks back toward his car.

  
  
  


She doesn’t get much sleep that night, her mind racing and replaying the night over and over again. 

_ I wasn’t thinking straight, how could I just walk out on him like that?  _

_ I should’ve been honest with him, it’s my fault our marriage fell apart. _

_ I let my mother get in my head. _

She sits up in bed, shaking her head. Having these thoughts weren’t going to help her at all at the moment. Laying back down, she pulls the covers up to her chin and closes her eyes. She can’t help but think, what things would be like now if they had worked through their issues? Would they be happy? Or were they doomed to fall apart? Finally drifting off to sleep, she has a dreamless night. 

Getting to work early, she goes straight up to her mothers room. Determined to keep calm, she takes a deep breath before stepping into the room. 

“Hello darling, you’re here early.” Her father greets her, from the chair beside the bed. 

“Yes, I was hoping to talk to mom real quick, alone.” 

He raises an eyebrow, looking between the two of them before standing and walking out of the room.

“What’s wrong, Rey? You look upset.”

“Of course I’m upset mother. What did you think would happen when you told Ben about what happened?” Her fists clench, but she keeps her tone calm. Her mother’s face pales.

“He shouldn’t be bothering you with that. I just thought he-“

“How dare you. It wasn’t your place to tell him that. You just did it to be cruel.” She steps closer to the bed. “I’ve made a lot of excuses for you over the years, you know. But I’m done. I’m just done.” 

“Rey, please. I saw what he put you through. You shouldn’t-“

“No, stop. You are done interfering in my life. I can’t forgive you for this.” 

She turns away from her pleading mother, walking out of the room. 

—

He decides to stay home from work the next day, not having the desire to face people with his eyes swollen from all the crying he did the previous day. 

Using his day to clean up his apartment, he quickly runs out of ways to distract himself. “I should’ve just gone to work.” He sighs, rubbing his head. 

Hearing his phone go off, he sees he has a text from his mother.

‘ _ Luke reached out to me, he wants to see you.’ _

That’s the last thing he needs right now. Typing out a quick  _ absolutely not  _ he puts his phone back down and decides to lift some weights; that always helps him clear his head. After about ten sets, his thoughts drift back to Rey. 

He had expected her to be angry at him, he thought he'd go over to her house and they’d have a screaming match, blaming each other for what happened. It was really just his catastrophize thinking trying to sabotage him, he now knows. It was something his therapist was trying to work with him on. She had seemed genuinely upset by him finding out like that, even comforted him when he broke down. That must mean something, right? Or maybe she was just taking pity on him. 

Wiping the sweat from his face, he knows he needs answers; and hopefully Rey is willing to answer them.

  
  
  


Just as Rey is preparing to leave for the day, she gets a text from an unknown number, 

_ ‘Are you busy after work?’ _

Raising an eyebrow, she wonders who would be texting her. Before she can respond, they text again.

_ ‘Sorry, this is Ben, I got your number from Hux, who got it from Rose.’ _

She responds that she’s free after work, and he quickly answers.

_ ‘Great, I’m outside in my car.’ _

Quickly gathering her stuff, she heads outside to see him standing next to an idling SUV. 

“Hey, I’ll give you a ride.” He opens the passenger side door, motioning for her to get it.

“Alright.” She’s a bit sceptical, but after yesterday she’s willing to listen to him. He shuts the door after her, and comes around to get in the driver's seat. 

“Are you hungry?” He asks, as he pulls away.

She shrugs. “I could eat.”

“Yeah, you always could..” He smiles, looking away from her. 

She wills her face not to react, and instead looks out the window. They drive in silence for a bit before he speaks up again.

“Um, I wanted to ask you something. Why weren’t you more upset with me yesterday?”

“Why would I have been?” 

“I don’t know, because I sprung it on you? It seems like you hadn’t wanted me to find out.” 

She sighs.“It’s not that I didn’t want you to find out. Or at least, I hadn’t intended that. It’s just… I guess I never thought I’d see you again, so it hadn’t accrued to me. I honestly...regret how everything happened between us.”

He turns to look in her direction, “You do?”

“Ben, look out!” 

He slams on the brakes, just avoiding running into the car in front of him. Rey feels something pop near her collar bone, and groans.

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry. Are you okay?” She shakes her head. “Where is it?”

“My-my collar bone, or my shoulder.” 

He quickly pulls the car over to the side of the road, and jumps out of the car, running around to her side. He flings her door open, kneeling down and gently placing a hand on her shoulder. 

“Let me see,” his fingers move her hair out of the way, and her coat. “It looks red, shit. Can you move your fingers?” She moves them, whimpering as it sends pain up her arm. “I think your clavicle is fractured.”

“I’m fine, it just caught me by surprise.” She tries to move her arm, but then cries out in pain.

“Don’t move!” He tries to keep the panic from his voice, but it’s seeping through. He grabs a scarf from his back seat, and maneuvers her arm against her chest. She hisses, but let’s him keep going. “You’re not fine, I’m taking you back to the hospital.” He uses the scarf to keep her arm up, and ties it behind her neck. 

“Ben, I’m fine! Just take me home so I can take an Advil or something.”

He ignores her, getting back into the drivers side. Before she knows it, they are pulling into the parking lot again. He helps her out of the car, keeping a firm arm around her. Poe spots them coming in one of the side entrances and looks concerned.

“What happened?” He looks Rey up and down.

“I was driving her home and hit my brakes too hard. I think her clavicle is fractured.” 

“Follow me.” He leads them to an empty room, and Ben guides her over to the bed. 

“I’m fine, he’s just being dramatic.” Rey tries to say, but both men ignore her. Poe gently feels around her shoulder and collarbone, asking what hurts. He sees the red mark, and it’s started to swell slightly.

“I think you’re right, Solo. Why the hell were you being so reckless?!” He turns to glare at Ben. 

“It was an accident. Please, just scold me later and help her now.”

“She’ll need to go over to X-ray, make sure there aren't any other fractures. You can do that, right?” 

The two almost scowl at each other for a moment, and Rey wonders if she should say something.

“Yes, I can manage that.” 

After getting her some pain meds and an X-ray, they determine there’s no other fractures. She is clearly feeling the pain meds, as she giggles while Ben tries to wrap the elastic bandage around her.

“It tickles.” She mutters between laughs. 

“I’m sure it does, just stay still.”

Poe comes to check on them, verifying there were no other fractures. 

“You should stay here and sleep the meds off, and you better take it easy while this heals.” She just nods, too tired to give a response.

He leaves them alone, and Rey tries to lay down.

“Careful, careful! Let me help you.” He pulls the blanket up for her, and helps her lie down more. 

“Thank you, Ben.” She mumbles, as her eyes drift closed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not feeling the best about this chapter, but I read over it and it seemed okay. Hope you enjoyed! I know that wasn’t the interaction you were expecting between those two, feel free to yell at me in the comments or on Twitter.


	8. Eight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben takes care of Rey.

When Rey wakes up, she is momentarily confused as to where she is. Sitting up, she winces at the pain in her collarbone and remembers what happened. She groans as she lays back down, and the curtain around her bed is pulled open just then. 

“How ya feeling?” Ben asks, putting his hands in his pockets.

“Groggy. Pain.” 

“I’m sorry.” He frowns, sitting in the chair next to her. “This is my fault, if I had just been paying attention.”

She sighs, “It's fine, Ben. I know it was an accident.”

“Still. Do you need help sitting up?” He gently takes her elbow, and adjusts the pillows behind her so she can lean back against them. 

“Thanks. How long was I out for?”

He checks his watch, “About two hours.” 

“Can you give me a ride home?”

He smiles sheepishly, “You sure you trust me?”

“Hey, it’s better than walking.”

She’s prescribed some extra strength ibuprofen from the pharmacy, which they pick up on their way out. He helps her buckle her seat belt once in the car, and she ignores how her stomach flutters when he has to lean over her. He gets into the driver's seat and they travel in silence. It’s not a long car ride, since she lives so close, but she realizes he passed her house.

“You know, you passed my house.”

“I know.” He smiles, continuing on.

“What do you mean, you know? Turn around.”

“Rey, come on. You live by yourself. Just let me help you.”

She glares at him, “You know this is considered kidnapping, right? And I can take care of myself.” 

“I know you can; but I’ll hardly be able to live with myself if you hurt yourself worse because you’re so stubborn. It’s something that I- I admire about you.” He clears his throat, as they get on the freeway. He pulls into a modest looking neighborhood; parking in the driveway of a modern looking two story with a brick front.

“You bought a house?” 

He shrugs, “It seemed like a good investment.” He gets out of the car, and comes around to help her out. Unlocking and opening the door, he gestures for her to go inside. Looking around, she can see it’s beautifully decorated, and assumes it was his mother’s doing. 

“I don’t have any clothes to change into.”

“You can just wear something of mine.”

She huffs with annoyance. “You didn’t think this through fully, did you?”

“...not exactly.” He disappears upstairs momentarily, before coming back with some folded clothes. “There’s a bathroom at the end of the hall, you can get changed in there. I’m gonna make some dinner.”

Going into the bathroom and shutting the door, she pulls off her coat and tugs her shirt off, being careful not to move her shoulder too much. Luckily she’s able to unclasp her bra one handed, because  _ no way _ was she asking for help from Ben. He gave her a dark blue short sleeved shirt, and some flannel pajama bottoms. The shirt of course fits more like a dress, and the legs have to be rolled up several times on the bottoms so she doesn’t trip on them; but it’s comfortable enough for sleeping. Leaving the bathroom, she wanders to where she is presuming the kitchen is. Ben already has some ingredients out and is turning on the stove.

“When did you learn to cook?” She leans against the island behind him.

“Only recently. Mom was sick of me getting take out all the time.” He dumps some sort of ground meat into a pan on the stove.

Rey snorts, “She would be. How are they, your parents?” 

“They’re good. Dad finally retired, and mom was relieved.”

“Hmm, bet he didn’t go down without a fight.”

“Oh of course not,” he chuckles, as pours some seasoning into the meat. “he insisted Chewie take over for him, and that he was still allowed to visit whenever he wanted. Like Chewie wouldn’t have allowed that anyways.”

She watches as pours noodles into a pan with boiling water, before he sprinkles some salt over them. He finishes cooking not long after, and serves two plates that he carries to the table. 

“Why’d you only bring one fork?” She asks, with a raised eyebrow.

“You hurt your right arm, how will you eat?” He picks up a bite on the fork, and holds it out to her.

“No way, Solo. I hurt my collarbone, not my hand.” She tries to grab the fork, but he holds it out of her reach. She rolls her eyes, before standing and grabbing the fork from him. He just smirks, watching as she takes a bite. “It’s good. Guess you should get your own fork so you can eat.”

They eat in comfortable silence, stealing glances at each other every now and then. Rey insists she can do the dishes, but Ben pushes her into the living room and forces her to sit down. She just shakes her head, and lays back. She had only meant to close her eyes for a moment, but the next thing she knows her head is on Ben’s shoulder and he’s carrying her up the stairs.

“What are you doing? Put me down.” She pushes on his shoulder.

“I’m just carrying you to bed. The guest bed, not mine.” She’s too sleepy to even notice his slip up. He knees open a door at the top of the steps, and sets her down on the bed before pulling the covers over her. “I’m right down the hall, if you need me.”

“Wait, I need to brush my teeth.” 

“Rey, you’re half asleep. It doesn’t matter right now.”

“It’s gross.” She slurs her words, pulling the cover off and stumbling to her feet.

He guides her to the hall bathroom, and pulls an unopened tooth brush from under the sink and hands that and the toothpaste to her. Her eyes are closed as she brushes, and she rinses and spits before setting the tooth brush down. He once again pulls the blankets over her, and she doesn’t even notice when he kisses her forehead, she’s already asleep. 

—

  
  


Ben lies awake for a bit that night, hardly able to believe Rey is down the hall. He drifts off finally, a smile on his face.

_ Once they get back to their apartment building, Ben stops her. _

_ “Wait, we have to do this right.” He scoops her into his arms, and she squeals.  _

_ “Ben! Just wait till we get to the door, don’t carry me up two flights of stairs!” _

_ “Nope, this is proper.” _

_ They made it to their apartment, and he didn’t even break a sweat. He unlocks the door, before setting her back down and kissing her.  _

_ “It’s so good to call you my wife.” He smiles, his forehead against hers. _

_ “It’s so good to call you my husband.” She pushes up on the tips of her toes and kisses him again.  _

  
  


He’s awoken by his phone going off, irritated he missed the good part of that memory. 

“Mom? Why are you calling so early?”

“Benjamin, it’s 10 am. That’s hardly early, especially for you. I’m outside, and didn’t wanna barge in without giving you a heads up.”

He sits straight up in bed, “You’re here? At my house? Why?” He jumps out of bed, pulling his pants on with one hand.

“I brought some meals for you to heat up and eat on nights you get home late, I worry you don’t eat enough.”

“Honestly, mom I’m a grown adult,” he trips trying to pull up his pants, and hits his elbow on his dresser, “ _ shit.  _ Sorry, that wasn’t at you. I can make my own food.”

“Yea, yea, don’t worry I didn’t make it myself. Maz brought some stuff over and I packed up the extras for you.”

Ben sighs. “Give me a minute.” He hangs up, and pulls a shirt over his head before leaving his room. He walks down the hall, and quietly knocks on the room to the guest room. He doesn’t get a response, so he cracks the door open a bit, to see a sleeping Rey. 

“You always were a deep sleeper.” He mumbles. Shutting the door behind him, he goes down the stairs and lets his mother in.

“Well, I’m glad you slept in. You probably needed it.” She walks right past him and into the kitchen, and he’s grateful he put the dishes away last night after he washed them.

“This is some of her carbonara she makes, I know that’s your favorite. And chicken gnocchi. She misses you, by the way. Said you should stop by sometime.”

She stops when they both hear a toilet flush upstairs, and he swears his heart stops.

“Ben, you should have told me you have someone over. Do I know them? Is it Kaydel?”

“No, mom, you don’t know them, and thanks for the food but you should really be going.”

He’s ushering her toward the door right as Rey comes down the stairs, her eyes going wide.

“Rey?” His mother says, looking shocked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have no idea what food Ben was cooking, just something with ground meat and noodles. What will Leia’s reaction be? Also, sorry for the cliffhanger, I didn’t intend it that way it just worked out. Hopefully the next chapter will be up within a week. Thanks for reading 🤗


	9. Nine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rey and Ben meet somewhere unexpected.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See end notes for possible triggers in this chapter.

No one moves, and she swears she doesn’t breath, for a whole minute. Rey just stares at Leia, who stares right back. 

“Mom, it’s not what you think- she had an accident at work and I was just helping her out.”

“Uh-huh.” Her eyes move down to look at what are obviously her son's pajamas on Rey. “And how long have you two been back in contact?” 

“W-well, you see, we’re actually on the same team at work.” His hand runs through his hair.

“And were you ever going to mention that?” Leia looks back at her son, with an eyebrow raised.

“Uh…” he trails off.

“Right. I’ll be heading home, nice seeing you again, Rey.” Rey just nods, unable to speak. She shuts the door behind her, and Ben just sighs, rubbing his forehead. 

“I am never going to live this down. Oh my god.” 

She comes to stand in front of him, crossing her arms. “Is this a bad time to remind you it was your idea I come here?” He just sighs again, and walks back into the kitchen. 

🩺

She goes back to work a few days later, mostly just assisting other doctors and doing small work. Poe monitors her, making sure she doesn’t push herself too hard. Her father calls her a few times, and she avoids his calls. 

She’s dying to ask Ben if he’s heard anything about what happened from his mother, but doesn’t want to intrude. It comes as no surprise though, when Leia herself makes an appearance at the hospital a week after the incident.

“Come on Ben, be nice and introduce me to your coworkers.” 

Hux snorts, and Ben shoots him a deathly glare. 

“You know Hux and Kaydel, this is Finn Storm, and Rose Tico. And…” he looks over toward her, “ this is Rey Kenobi.” So he must’ve told her no one here knows their secret, thank god. Leia nods at everyone, her eyes lingering on Rey.

“I won’t keep you guys, just wanted to stop by and say hello.” Ben sighs. 

“Mom, please. I’m a grown man, not a child.” 

“Alright, alright.” She waves him off, and walks back toward the exit. 

“Do I need to have dad stop by and make introductions, as well?” Hux teases, and Ben just points at him. Rose and Finn snicker as Hux’s face falls.

“You didn’t even crack a smile, you okay?” Finn pokes her shoulder.

“I’m good, just need my morning coffee.” 

“It’s 1 pm.” He glances at his watch, raising an eyebrow.

“Whatever.” She sticks her tongue out at him. 

🩹

Ben quickly texts his mom after getting to the locker room. 

_ So not cool. If you ever do that again, I’m not coming to family dinners ever again. _

She just sends a heart emoji, and he rolls his eyes. Word spreads around the hospital about his mother coming in, and he hears laughter behind his back all day. A well meaning nurse just asks if his mother is really Leia Organa, former senator of Alderaan, and he nearly bites her head off. 

By the time lunch comes around, Hux has thought it best to stop poking fun at him. They eat in silence, listening to the hustle and bustle of the cafeteria. 

“Mind if I sit here?” He glances up, surprised to see Rey.

“Uh, no. Go ahead.” He scoots over to give her more room, as she takes the chair right next to him. “How’s the arm doing?” 

“Good, not too bad. The pain meds help, and I’m not doing anything too strenuous anyways. Poe’s been helpful.”

He frowns, and looks back at his food. Was there something between the two of them? He’d been awfully concerned when Rey had been hurt. But surely she would’ve mentioned if she had a boyfriend when he brought her back to his house. 

_ Or the fact that you slept together not too long ago. _

He chokes on his water a bit, prompting startled glances from his table mates. 

“Just went down the wrong pipe.” 

He looks at Rey in his peripheral vision, taking in her appearance. She has her coat off, and he can see the wrap around her shoulder. Her hair is up in her classic three bun style, something he always found odd but strangely cute on her. No makeup today, her freckles on display. 

He wishes he wasn’t such a coward, and could just tell her his feelings; but if she is with Dameron he doesn’t want to interfere. 

“See you both later.” He stands from the table, picking up his half eaten lunch to go dump it. He gets halfway toward the elevator when he feels someone tug on his arm.

“Ben, wait.” He turns back toward Rey.

“What did your mother say? You know, after what happened.”

“Uh…”

_ “Ben, tell me now if you still have feelings for her.” _

_ “Look, even if I do it’s none of your business.” _

_ “It doesn’t seem normal to have your ex wife at your house, sleeping in your clothes if you don’t have some feelings for her.”  _

_ “Mom, I’m not discussing this.” _

_ “Oh this makes so much sense, no wonder you weren’t interested in Kaydel. Do you need help? Is it her mother again? What a nasty woman.” _

“Um.. she was confused. Didn’t really say much.” He shrugs, trying to look nonchalant.

“Really? That doesn’t sound like her at all.”

“Ha, yeah. It was...very unusual for her. I have to go, I have a patient waiting. But I’ll see you around.”

“Oh, right, sorry. You go on.” She smiles.

Once he makes it to the elevator, he drops his head into his hands and sighs.

🌡

Rey finally gets a call she can’t ignore, and she answers the phone reluctantly.

“Hello, grandpa.” 

“Rey, darling. How have you been?”

“Uh, good. If you’re calling about mom…”

“I haven’t seen you in a bit, I want you to stop by for lunch on your next day off.”

“Oh, alright. I’ll be there.”

Maybe he’s planning on springing it on her in person. He usually tries to stay neutral when her and her mother have a disagreement, but that doesn’t stop him from being the peacekeeper. She’s sure her mother told him everything, and grandpa must have questions. She knows he’ll understand her point of view, but she hopes he doesn’t try to get her to forgive her mother; she isn’t ready for that. 

Her current patient is a sweet old lady, in for a case of pneumonia. 

“Ma’am, your pneumonia is worse than we thought. Your file says your son usually brings you, is he here today?”

“He’s very busy, please just tell me what’s wrong.”

“Alright, well, you see this here?” Rey shows her the X-ray of her chest, “the cancer that's there has gotten bigger.”

Her face scrunches, “Cancer?! What are you saying? Cancer?”

“It’s lung cancer.” Rey says, frowning.

“L-lung cancer?! I-I, what are you saying? This is the first time I’m hearing this! It’s cancer? Lung cancer?!” She grabs Rey’s hand, leaning toward her.

“Please calm down, it’s not good for you to get worked up,” a nearby nurse says, placing a hand on the older woman’s shoulder. 

“Let go of me!” She cries out, pulling away from the nurse.

Jannah comes over to see what the commotion is, looking at Rey, “What is it?”

“She’s been receiving chemotherapy for lung cancer, but the results show pneumonia.”

The older woman lets out a sob, and Jannah kneels in front of her. “Please try to calm down, ma’am. I’ll look into this, and we’re going to treat you for the pneumonia.”

She ignored Jannah, pulling out her cell phone. “Bill, Bill. It’s me. I’m in the ER here, the doctor says I have- I have cancer! She says it’s lung cancer!” 

Jannah pulls Rey into her office, and Rey is still shaken from her encounter. 

“Did you look at the patient's medical records?” She asks.

“Uh, no…”

Jannah sighs. “It says the son asked to keep it a secret from the mother.”

“I’m sorry, I hadn’t had a chance to check.” Rey feels ashamed.

“When it comes to cancer, you always have to be careful. The smartest thing to do is to inform them of their diagnosis after you’ve built rapport with them. These days, we are obligated to inform the patient of her diagnosis, but… depending on the case you have to tell them when the time is right.”

“I’ll be more careful next time, Dr. Calrisian.”

Jannah nods, “Hurry and prepare the treatment room, so we can start by treating the pneumonia.”

The son comes in and demands to speak to someone.

“Who the hell told her she had cancer?!” The man yells, looking angry.

“I’m sorry, your mother was in critical condition, and she wanted to hear an explanation, so I had no choice but to tell her.” Rey stares down at her feet, too nervous to meet the man's eyes.

“What would an elderly know? Right now, we’re being quiet amongst family members, and we barely convinced her to receive treatment. If something like that happened, you should have called me!”

“She told me not to call you, saying you were busy.”

He sighs, “Didn’t you see on her medical chart that we requested that you keep the diagnosis a secret from her?!”

“I’m sorry.” She squeezes her eyes shut.

Jannah and Ben walk into the room just then, “Are you the patient's son?” Jannah asks. He nods. “It’s a shame that she had to find out so suddenly, but with illnesses like cancer it’s hard to keep it a secret. She has a right to know but in a timely manner; we have the responsibility of informing the patient too.”

“What’s going on?! How’s she doing??”

“Right now, she’s in critical condition due to pneumonia. If antibiotics don’t work, then…”

“Then what??” He interrupts. “Are you saying she’s going to die? She was fine this morning!”

“She’s unconscious right now. I saw on her medical records that she denied life support.”

“Are you saying we should take her off the ventilator? She said no life support, not that she’ll deny all treatment! Just save the patient!” She shouts. He takes a step forward, and Ben reaches out a hand and grabs the man's arm, stopping him.

“Sir, please calm down.” He shakes Ben’s hand off. 

“Let go of me!” He looks back at Rey, “This is all your fault!”

“I’ll give you an update after I observe your mother’s progress.” Jannah says, stepping around Ben. He looks between the three of them, before storming off. 

Jannah goes back to the patient, and Rey sighs. “What are we going to do?”

Ben pats her shoulder, “We’re going to save her, I’m sure there’ll be a way. You should go check on your other patients.”

🩺

When she finally goes to her grandfather's house at the end of the week, she’s surprised to see another car there, as he doesn’t usually have visitors besides his caretaker. She knocks on the door, and Ashoka opens the door and greets her with a hug.

“I feel like I haven’t seen you in a bit, Rey. How have you been?” She steps aside to let her in.

“Work has been… stressful, to say the least.” They both laugh. 

“I’ve heard a little bit about what’s going on with your mother, I can’t imagine that’s helping.”

“No, no it’s not. Is someone else here?”

“Ah, maybe you should see for yourself. They’re in the study.” 

She raises an eyebrow, but carries on to the study. She sees her grandfather sitting at his desk, with a very tall individual sitting with their back toward her. 

“Ben? What are you doing here?” 

He turns around, looking startled. “Rey, hi. Uh…”

Her grandfather interrupts them both. “Rey, come give your grandpa a hug.” He stands from his desk, holding his arms out. “Benjamin and I have just been catching up. I didn’t know you two were working together! How lovely.” He grins, motioning for her to sit in a nearby arm chair. 

She sits, eyeing Ben with curiosity. How long have these two been in contact? she wonders. The older Ben asks them a few questions about work, and how they like it so far. Finally, Rey’s curiosity wins out.

“How long have you two been keeping in touch, exactly?” 

“Well, you see-“ Ben starts, but her grandfather interrupts.

“I actually ran into Ben about two years ago at a coffee shop. We got to chatting, and he’s been stopping by occasionally since then.” He smiles, and her eyes widen, as she looks between the both of them. 

“Ben, can I speak to you, really quick? In the hallway?”

“Uh, sure…” he follows her into the hallway, and she lightly punches his shoulder. 

“When were you going to mention you’ve been chatting with my grandfather? Were you keeping tabs on me, or something?”

“What? No, Rey it was purely coincidental I ran into him. He helped me out with something, and kept inviting me over. I swear we weren’t-“ 

They both hear a loud thud, and turn back toward the study. 

“Grandpa, you okay?” There’s no response, so they both walk back in to see him lying on the ground, his eyes closed.

“Grandpa!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Rey has to tell a patient she has lung cancer, and the patient takes it badly and is very upset.


End file.
